We've only had a couple warm days so far, but on those days, I feel like making vanilla lemonade. I make it in a very hodgepodge way - squeeze out a bunch of lemons, funnel into a carafe, add water, vanilla, add a cup or so of simple syrup to taste.

These carafes have been a great friend in making lemonade...it's great for shaking the heck out of the lemonade and then storing away!

The story originally ran in the New York Times Magazine (where I completely failed to keep up with it) but has been expanded into this lovely hardback volume. One of the nicest things about reading a Dan Clowes book is that every detail of the object is so considered -- everything from the shape/size to the lettering to the color-scheme to the Author bio/'photo" (an endearing drawing in his case) is thoughtful and clever.

This story is really humble and...well, wonderful -- very simple in scope (spanning less than 24 hours of a couple's initial meeting) but at the same time, beautifully expansive. Mister Wonderful weaves one man (Marshall) and one lady's (Natalie) sweetly-imperfect blind date into a story that elegantly and subtly reaches into their personal pasts, presents and the futures. Over the course of the story, it feels less like a date, and feels more like these two fighting their way through a dense thicket of their respective histories, worries, neurosis and hopes.

One technique Mr. Clowes uses to this end is to overlap Marshall's thought-bubbles with the dialogue bubbles. This (very brilliantly) shows Marshall's internal dialogue - which consists of pretty normal date neurosis, like fretting over if he's saying the right thing, worrying about how he's appearing/sounding, daydreaming, The thoughts cloud the dialogue, so you only get bits & pieces of the actual conversation. It's next level, sophisticated bubble-use, and I was quite dazzled!

I also think it's important to mention what a contrast this book is to Mr. Clowes' last book, Wilson, which also concerns a middle-aged fellow and his particular plight and worries. While I loved Wilson, and found it hilarious, the protagonist (Wilson) is wildly self-righteous, acidic, angry, misanthropic. Marshall/Mister Wonderful is quite a different creature: nervous, kind, inward, much more mildly misanthropic.

I read this excellent Comics Journal interview in which Mr. Clowes juxtaposed the two in this way: "Wilson is the pure id creature, and Marshall in Mister Wonderful is all superego, all repression...I made him a character that was constricted, and was self-censoring to the nth degree, to where he’s actually obliterating what’s going on around him and living entirely in his own head".

When I was thinking about the difference between the two characters/books, I kept imagining each guy's laugh. I imagine Wilson's to be a loud, harsh (probably disdainful) GUFFAW!, while I imagine Mr. Wonderful's to be a nervous, quiet, stammering sort of laugh.

I could never say I prefer one to the other, because it takes both laughs to fully explain why I love Dan Clowes so much.

This painting is the largest in the Alice series, and so I had to take it to my friends at Pushdot here in town, where they take beautiful "captures" of all my work that's too large to scan by normal means.

I just picked it up a few days ago, and now I can show you my version of the Mad Tea Party...

I really had a fun time with the miniaturized recurring characters here! Here are a few details, since it is a larger one with lots of little bits going on:

I think Alice seems sufficiently bewildered, yes?

And I'm so happy about that phonograph...I've always imagined that there should be some madcap music at that crazy party. I think the mousie is playing his tiny accordion hopelessly out of sync with the record.

The little cheshire kitten cameo is Josiah's favorite part. I think just 'cause he reminds him of our little furbaby cat.

So excited I finally got to share this one - it looks really nice framed, so I can't wait to photograph it that way, too!

This time of year, Portland is full to bursting with flowering trees. All different kinds, everywhere you look. It makes going on walks into more of a bloom-bandit, scavenging activity!

Miniature, perfect blossoms.

Fluffy, feathery blooms.

Fine, delicate little buds.

The Springtime is really overwhelming me this year, and I've been bringing as many bits of it inside as possible. A neverending carousel of one or two flowers shoved in bottles and little vases, big bunches of tulips...it's so nice.

And thank you for all the kind words on the "Live Flowers" painting - I've recieved lots of inquiries about when it, and the other Alice work will be available. Right now I'm thinking the whole series of originals (including a few more yet-unshown pieces!) will be available in early-ish May.

Of course, I'll post the exact date and time here that all the Alice originals will be available for purchase, so keep an eye out.

More Alice work to share - this time, a twist on the Garden of Live Flowers.

I was really inspired by 16th century Dutch floral still lifes here (especially those ones with inky backgrounds.) I thought it would be fun to pluck the talking blooms from the garden and let them chat in this green glass bottle for a bit.

Still Life with Live Flowers 11"x14"x1" Acrylic on canvas

The red rose bears a passing resemblance to a certain little queenie...I think it's fun having little connecting threads between the pieces!

Alice was so astonished that she could not speak for a minute: it quite seemed to take her breath away. At length, as the Tiger-lily only went on waving about, she spoke again, in a timid voice — almost in a whisper. 'And can all the flowers talk?'

When we were visiting Georgia, Josiah, my mama and I went for an afternoon picnic to a semi-secret riverside spot we used to frequent when I was little.

It was just as nice as I remembered it. Truly, I felt like we were living in Wind in the Willows. My mind was racing off with thoughts of how lovely a simple but cozy wooden house on a riverbank would be.

The water was freeeezing, but we waded in anyway, and perched up on the slightly-dryer rocks.

Then it's fair to say we spent the rest of the afternoon mostly hunting for skipping stones. And skipping them til' our arms were sore.

Josiah was really good! I really think he got 5 or 6 skips off of one stone. I never got more than 2 or 3.

It was one of the best afternoons I've spent in a really long time, and when it was time to grab my trusty Mr. Fox tote and hit the road, I was more than a little sad to say goodbye to our river rat day!

All I know is that we've gotta get back there. And I need to brush up on my stone-skipping skills.

All last week, we were on little jaunt through our home back South. We hit, in order, Georgia, South Carolina, Georgia again, Tennessee, and then headed back to end our trip in Georgia, like a couple o' native peaches.

I didn't take a ton of photos, and my camera did fall in the ocean once, so here's a rather random few!

Favorite things:

- The dogwoods, which were unbelievable every single place we went! It made all our driving much nicer...all those white and pink blooms are good company.

- My mama's garden in its Spring glory, and the fact that she will patiently walk me through dozens of plants while I hop around saying "What's that one? And whats that one?!"

- A Chik-fil-a visit for ultra-sweet/tart lemonade and chicken sandwich - mandatory on any trip home.

- Little kids dancing to bad wedding music

- Watching old movies in a house full of comics and old toys (one of my favorite places on earth, 'cause it also contains two of my favorite people on earth)

- A morning at my old favorite junk shops in Athens

- An afternoon at the river with my two river rats...photos of that to come!

- Hunting for treasures in & around Nashville:

With so many people I love there and the beautiful, mild Spring weather, it was a little hard to leave. But then the humidity kicked in and suddenly it was in the 80's, which helped me tear myself away!

Being away from it for a few years now, I really do love visiting the South.